Pelson



April 14, 1964 E. PELSON 3,128,959

REEL CONSTRUCTION Filed May 5, 1959 INVENTOR fxwssr P4so- TTORNEY 3,128,959 Patented Apr. 14, 19.64

3,128,959 REEL CONSTRUCTION Ernest Pelson, 41 5. Mountain Ave, Montclair, NJ. Filed May 5, 1959, Ser. No. 811,205 Claims. (Cl. 242-74) This invention relates to reel construction.

The use of metallic or plastic reels for film, tape, or strip, as, for instance, magnetic tape, photographic film, or the like, is commonplace to-day. To facilitate such use, the provision of means for securing an end of the film or strip in position at the time of the commencement of the winding of the film upon the reel becomes important. It is an object of the invention to provide a reel of this type the manufacture of which is facilitated and the cost thereof reduced by a construction which, by means for anchoring the end of tape, film or strip in position produces such reel by decreasing the number of parts necessary for the making of such reel.

It is an object of the invention to provide a construction for a reel of the type indicated which may be produced by means of fewer parts and a smaller number of steps, including the steps of assembly, and thus results in reduction of the cost of manufacture.

It is an object of the invention to provide a reel of the type indicated for the manufacture of which but a single part is required, whereby the assembly of two identical parts will produce a strong reel construction which has inherent means to receive the end of a film or tape strip end with facility.

It is an object of the invention to provide a reel construction wherein a single element may be formed from metal, plastic, or other materials capable of being shaped by molding or similar operations, and wherein two such elements, by their assembly, produce the single reel construction which, by the association of related parts of the identical elements, provide means for efficiently receiving and anchoring a tape or film end against separation during the usual winding of film, tape or similar strip upon such reel.

It is an object of the invention to provide a construction for a reel of the type indicated which provides for facility in manufacture, and cheapness in assembly operations, so as to provide a sturdy product at reduced cost.

Other objects of the invention will be set forth hereinafter, or will be apparent from the description and the drawings, in which are illustrated embodiments exemplifying the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction, or any particular arrangement of parts, or any particular application of any such construction or arrangement of parts, or any specific method of operation or use, or any of the various details thereof, even where specifically shown and described herein, as the same may be modified in various particulars, or may be applied in many varied relations, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, of which the exemplifying embodiments, herein shown and described, are intended only to be illustrative, and only for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the statutes for disclosure of an operative embodiment, but not to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

On the drawings, in which the same reference characters refer to the same partsthroughout, and in which are disclosed such practical constructions,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, to reduced scale, of a reel embodying features of the invention; 7

FIG. 2 is a detail plan view, to enlarged scale, of a portion of the reel structure shown in FIG. 1, the showing being as if one of the discs were removed, and, for clarity the projections left in their nested relations, but the projections from one disc being shown in elevation, and the projections from the other disc being shown in section, the view being substantially as seen from the lines 2-2 of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 3 is a detail cross-sectional view, substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail plan view, and similar to FIG. 2, but only of one of the members which, when assembled with another member, produces a reel;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but in cross-section substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating a modified form of construction; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating a further modification.

On the drawing, there is illustrated a reel 10 (FIG. 1) which has embodied therein certain features of the invention. Reel 10 is shown to comprise a pair of discs 12 and 14 separated by a hub 16. Each disc may have openings 18, formed therethrough between arms 19, which serve the purpose of reducing the weight of the reel without reduction of strength, as well as other purposes which will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

The reel construction here to be described is in connection with its production by molding from plastic, although it is to be understood that other materials, including metals, whether by die casting or other molding process, or sheet metal, may be utilized in the manufacture of this structure.

Considering disc or flange 12 (FIGS. 1 to 5), a pair of projections 20 and 22 are provided to extend from the inside face 24 of that disc. The end faces 26 of projection 26 (FIGS. 1 and 3) are intended to engage against inside face 28 of disc 14 (comparable to face 24 of disc 12), in the assembly finally to be produced. However, projection 22 is of such extent and is so positioned (see 'FIGS. 1 and 3) that it extends free of contact with face 28, ad, in fact, its end faces 30 are positioned to be substantially in the plane of outside face 32 of disc 14 (the reverse is shown in FIG. 1 where projection 22 has its end faces flush with the comparable outside face of disc 12).

Projections 20 and 22 may be constructed in such form that they may be made from thin strips of material bent into the shapes appearing in cross-section or in outline in FIG. 2. While this construction is shown, it is possible to attain at least most of the results desired by making projections 20 and 22 as solid members, without openings. Such results are produced by molding, or similar operations.

Projection 20 may have a wall 34, a face 36 of which may be disposed on a diameter of disc 12. Wall 34 terminates in arcuate wall sections 3-8, which in turn extend to and continue into angularly'inwardly extending walls 4%. Walls 40 then terminate and unite with a single wall 42 which may extend substantially parallel to wall 34. Wall 34, at its mid-section, may be enlarged into a semicylindrical portion 44 in order to provide strength for hub 16. A plurality of slots 46, here shown as three in number, are formed to extend substantially perpendicular (in FIG. 2) to face 26 and outside face 32 of disc 12. These slots extend radially inwardly from a cylindrical face 48 of portion 44. As clearly shown in FIG. 4,

' additional slots 50 are formed in disc 12 to coincide with at its ends, unites with angularly disposed wall portions 54. Portions 54 may unite with and terminate in stubs 56 which extend substantially parallel to walls 34 and 42. Stubs 56 may be a single continuous member, without interruption; for certain purposes, they may terminate in ends 58 to provide a slit 60.

The assembly of a disc 12 with projections 20 and 22 may be considered to constitute a section 62. Such a single section may be produced by molding from suitable plastic materials of well known moldable properties. Likewise, as pointed out, such sections may be produced by assembling stamped sections of metal, or by adhesively securing bent strips to a disc 12 to form projections 20 and 22 upon the disc. Now two of these sections 62, identical in all details, may be associated so that the faces 36 of the two projections 20 of the opposed discs :12 and 14 are abutted along what now defines a diameter of the reel, while the associated faces 48 form a single opening 64 which will provide for reception of the spindle of a turntable upon which the reel is to be mounted. Automatically, by this assemly, projections 22 are positioned so as to be spaced from the abutted projections 20 to define passages 66 and 68 (FIG. 2) between the respective Walls 40 and 42 and the associated Wall portions 54 and stubs 56. Since projections 22 are of the same height, end faces 26 of the respective projections 22 will engage against opposed faces 24 of discs 12 and 14. A suitable solvent or adhesive may be applied to faces 26 before the assembly is completed, or bringing two sections 62 together; with a suitable solvent or adhesive also applied to faces 36, the sections will be bonded rigidly to form a reel 10.

The two sets of slots 46 and the additional slots 50 become associated (FIGS. 1 and 2) to provide six radial members for the reception of a spline (not shown) which may be associated with the spindle of apparatus with which the reel is to be associated, and thus provide means positively to drive the reel in rotating it. In some cases, three splines are provided. The association of the six slots facilitates such assembly, as well as the production of sections 62 of identical design to obtain such result. All slots extend clear through portion 44 from face 26 to face 32, so that if the spline is longer than the thickness of the reel, it may be accommodated.

Openings 70 may be formed in discs 12 and 14. Such openings may extend through the discs, and not into projections 20 and 22 where such projections are solid. Such openings would thus form recesses in such cases; otherwise, the openings may extend completely through the disc. Such openings sometimes are required where, in place of slots 46 to be engaged by a spline, pins are fixed to and extend from the face of a turntable to engage wtihin such openings 70 for driving the reel. Such pins generally are stubs, so that they will not extend further than the thickness of discs 12 and 14. Other openings 71 may be provided additionally to facilitate access to projections 20 and 22.

It will be noted that a projection 22 of one section 62 is positioned to be associated with an opening 18 of the other section 62. Thus, a projection 22 (FIG. 1) at each face of reel will be disposed so as to provide free access to a passage 66 between that respective projection and its associated projection 20. On reversing the reel to bring disc 14 into the position of disc 12, the identical relationship will be found. Thus, when it is desired to assemble a strip of film or tape with such a reel, it makes no difference which side is up. The end of the strip may be inserted between discs 12 and 14, through the opening 18 at which a projection 22 appears, and the strip is then threaded through passage 66 which is thus made accessible for that purpose. The end of the tape may be doubled over and inserted through slit 60 between the ends of stubs 56, or it may merely be extended through the passage. Then the strip may be wrapped around hub 16 formed by the associated projections, until the tape or film covers over the end of the tape extending beyond passage 66, thus to retain the tape or film anchored in position.

Thus, by the very simple operation of inserting the strip end between discs 12 and 14, and dropping the end of the strip into passage 66, and then turning the reel so that one turn will be wrapped around hub 16 now constructed by the associated projections 20 and 22, the strip is anchored in position, and the operation of winding the strip on the reel thereafter may progress without the necessity of any other method of attaching the strip to the hub.

In FIG. 6 is shown a modified form of the reel made from sections in which projection 72 takes the shape of a segment of a circle. Such projection, in the modified form here disclosed, may be solid, and has a boundary wall 74 lying in the chord of the circle of the hub. Associated projection 76 is provided with a wall 7 8 which is substantially parallel to wall 74 and to wall 34. In such case, the end of the strip is merely dropped into and extends through passage 80, and then is wrapped around hub 16, to anchor it in place.

Simpler access for the strip end to a passage 82 is provided in the modified construction shown in FIG. 7. In that case, projection 84 has a wall 86 which is not rectilinear, but may be arcuate in form, as, for instance, as shown in the drawing. Arcuate wall 86 may approach close to tangency with wall 78 at its midpoint, where a very narrow slit 88 will be defined. Then the walls diverge to provide fairly wide openings 90, to facilitate manipulating the strip ends into slit 88.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular constructions, and in the methods of use and construction, and in specific details thereof, hereinbefore set forth, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined herein, the specific description being merely of embodiments capable of illustrating certain principles of the invention.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other so that a face of a projection on one disc engages against the like face of the identical projection from the other disc, a projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed face of the disc of the other member to space the discs of the identical members from each other; the interfitted projections combining to define a hub for having the strip wound thereon and for receiving a spindle for mounting the reel, and strip-receiving passages.

2. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of substantially identical members, each member comprising a flange and a plurality of projections upstanding from the flange, the projections of the pair of identical members being of substantially uniform height throughout, at least one of the projections of each member having a wall immediately adjacent a diameter of that member; the projections of the members being interfitted with each other to position certain of the projections spaced from each other to define a hub for having the strip means wound thereon and for receiving a spindle for mounting the reel, and strip-receiving passages.

3. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of separate and distinct wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc and being widely spaced apart from each other and being at different distances along a single diameter of the disc from a mid point of the diameter, each disc having at least one open ing, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other so that certain of the projections nest between others of the projections, a projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed face of the disc of the other member to space the discs of the identical members from each other; the interfitted projections combining to define a hub for having the strip means wound thereon and for receiving a spindle for mounting the reel, and strip-receiving passages; and a projection from one member being accessible through the opening of and being free of the opposed disc of the other member.

4. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of separate and distinct wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, at least one of the projections on each disc having a wall disposed on a diameter of the disc, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other with the walls disposed on the diameters in abutment with each other, the projections, when so interfitted, spacing the discs and the other projections of the identical members from each other to define strip-receiving passages.

5. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, the projections on each disc being spaced at different distances from the center of the disc, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other so that one projection of each disc is nested between the projections from the other disc; the interfitted projections combining to space the discs of the identical members from each other and to define strip-receiving passages.

6. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc and being widely spaced from each other and being at different distances along a diameter of the disc from the midpoint of the diameter, each disc having at least one opening, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other so that one projection of each disc is nested between the projections from the other disc, and a projection from one member being accessible through the opening of and being free of the opposed disc of the other member, a projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed face of the disc of the other member; certain interfitted projections engaging with each other to space those projections from other projections from the identical members to define strip-receiving means.

7. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, at least one of the projections on each disc having a wall disposed adjacent the diameter of the disc, each disc having at least one opening, the projections on each disc being spaced from each other, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other so that one projection of each disc is nested between the projections from the other disc with the walls disposed adjacent the diameters in abutment with each other, another of the projections from each member being accessible through the opening of and being free of the opposed disc of the other member, at least one projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed face of the disc of the other member; the interfitted projections combining to space the discs of the identical members from each other and to define strip receiving means.

8. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other and when interfitted all cooperating to define a hub for the reel, a projection from each disc engaging the other disc to space the discs of the identical members from each other, a projection from one disc and a projection from the other disc having substantially non-parallel walls, said substantially non-parallel walls being juxtaposed when the projections are interfitted, certain of the projections engaging with each other when the projections are interfitted to space the non-parallel walls from each other to define a strip-receiving passage having divergent walls.

9. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of identical members, each member including a flange for the reel and projections, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other,

a projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed flange of the other member to space the flanges from each other; identical portions of all interfitted projections cooperating to define a hub for having the strip wound thereon and for receiving a spindle for mounting the reel, and strip-receiving passages.

10. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, the projections on each disc being spaced from each other along a diameter of the disc, the projections from one disc being interfitted with the projections from the other disc so that one projection of each disc is nested between the projections from the other disc, a projection of each member being abutted against and secured to the opposed face of the disc of the other member, a pair of the interfitted projections engaging each other to provide a space between each such engaged projection and the other projection from the other member to define strip-receiving means.

11. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of identical members, each member including a disc, and a pair of spaced apart wall-forming projections extending upwardly from a face of the disc, the projections from one disc being interfitted with the projections from the other disc with projections from both discs engaging and secured to opposed discs and retaining the opposed discs in spaced relation, a pair of interfitted projections engaging each other to retain a wall of a projection from one disc disposed with its face opposed to and spaced from a wall of a projection from the other disc to form a strip-receiving passage.

12. A reel for strip means, the reel consisting of a pair of identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of separate and distinct Wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, all of the projections being of substantially the same height, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other, and only certain of the projections engaging against each other and against the discs; said certain engaged projections spacing the discs of the identical members from each other and spacing the other projections from the engaged projections to define stripreceiving pasages; the interfitted projections combining to define a hub for having the strip means wound thereon and for receiving a spindle for mounting the reel.

13. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc and being widely spaced apart from each other and being at diiferent distances along a diameter of the disc from the midpoint of the diameter, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other to form a hub and spacing the discs of the identical members from each other, and a projection from one disc having an entrant slit for receiving the end of a strip, said projection having the slit and a projection from the other disc being associated, when interfitted, to define a strip-receiving passage opening out- Wardly away from said one disc and leading to the slit from the periphery of the hub.

14. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of substantially identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, all of the projections besubstantially parallel Walls being associated, when the projections are interfitted, to define a strip-receiving passage opening outwardly away from said one disc and leading to the slit from the periphery of the hub.

15. A reel for strip means, the reel comprising a pair of identical members, each member including a disc and a plurality of wall-forming projections extending laterally from the disc, the projections of the pair of identical members being interfitted with each other to form a hub and when interfitted one projection from each disc engaging the other disc to space the discs of the identical members from each other, a projection from one disc and a projection from the other disc having substantially parallel walls, said substantially parallel walls being associated, when the projections are interfitted, to define a strip-receiving pasage opening outwardly away from one of the discs and leading from the periphery of the hub.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 754,117 Bedworth Mar. 8, 1904 2,065,575 Gavin Dec. 29, 1936 2,467,607 Bates Apr. 19, 1949 2,704,641 Schnetzer et al Mar. 22, 1955 2,746,692 Wijchman May 22, 1956 2,766,947 Hultgren Oct. 16, 1956 2,778,581 Lorenz Jan. 22, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,164,842 France May 19, 1958 619,326 Germany Sept. 27, 1935 481,065 Italy May 19, 1953 485,632 Italy Oct. 16, 1953 

9. A REEL FOR STRIP MEANS, THE REEL CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF IDENTICAL MEMBERS, EACH MEMBER INCLUDING A FLANGE FOR THE REEL AND PROJECTIONS, THE PROJECTIONS OF THE PAIR OF IDENTICAL MEMBERS BEING INTERFITTED WITH EACH OTHER, A PROJECTION OF EACH MEMBER BEING ABUTTED AGAINST AND SECURED TO THE OPPOSED FLANGE OF THE OTHER MEMBER TO SPACE THE FLANGES FROM EACH OTHER; IDENTICAL PORTIONS OF ALL INTERFITTED PROJECTIONS COOPERATING TO DEFINE A HUB FOR HAVING THE STRIP WOUND THEREON AND FOR RECEIVING A SPINDLE FOR MOUNTING THE REEL, AND STRIP-RECEIVING PASSAGES. 